


nothing like self awareness

by equinnoxious



Series: how the mighty have fallen (in love) [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, One-Sided Pidge/Lance, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 13:03:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20064475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/equinnoxious/pseuds/equinnoxious
Summary: Pidge has an epiphany but it's too late to do anything about it.





	nothing like self awareness

**Author's Note:**

> think ive sorted this thing out - im bad at writing things in chronological order, but things happen all in the same sort of timeline so we've got chaptered stories within a series :')
> 
> as always, no beta, we die like men

They were all back on Earth, for the first time in what felt like deca-phoebs. Which, technically speaking, wasn't far from the truth. From the Paladin's perspective, it had only been about a year - three for Keith but, for the rest of the universe, it had been three deca-phoebs. Which meant Pidge was grounded for a long, long time.

She expected to spend the entire grounding at the Garrison, shadowed by her mother. It wasn't like she didn't deserve it; she did leave the solar system without so much as a note that read be back later. Pidge felt awful for worrying her mother so much, her mother who had lost her husband and son and then her daughter all in a short time frame, but if she had to go back and do it again, she would.

What she didn't expect to get out of her grounding was a shopping date with Allura, for Lance. 

She didn't expect her heart to clench as much as it did when Allura told her Lance had asked her out. Lance had proclaimed his love for Allura time and time again, but Allura brushed it off each and every time. Pidge thought nothing of it since Allura has always rebuffed his advances. She never thought Allura would ever reciprocate.

But now, after spending the day with Allura in the shopping mall, Pidge felt empty. She had managed to get her hands on a video game she knew Lance would enjoy playing with her, the much awaited sequel to the game they'd bought their previously with scrounged fountain money. However, she ended up giving the game up in a trade for a beautiful dress for Allura, which she knew would have made Lance happier in a different way.

Romance hadn't been something Pidge seriously considered in all their time fighting the Galra Empire. She had more important things to focus on, but now that things were winding down and Lance and Allura seemed to have something serious, she realised she'd always been fond of Lance.

It was a shocking sort of realisation as she picked at her food, especially since it was too late to act on. She sighed heavily as she pushed the food around on the tray, the sustenance holding no appeal to her anymore.

"You're thinking so loud I can almost hear it." 

She jerked her head up to find Keith sliding into the seat next to her with a soft smirk on his face. She must have looked desolate, because Keith's amused expression was immediately replaced with concern. 

"Pidge, what's wrong?" 

His voice was so full of concern it made Pidge's gut contort with guilt. "Nothing," she dismissed with a wave of her hand, but her tone said otherwise. "I just had a full on day,'" she added, hoping it would satisfy him.

He was unconvinced. "Come on, you can talk to me." He nudged her slightly with his elbow as his voice took on a softer approach.

Pidge looked around the room, her sweep obvious. It was just them, no other bystanders to eavesdrop on their conversation. She steeled herself, knowing she owed it to Keith to confide in him. She'd done the very same thing to him; been there for him as he struggled to come to terms with his Galra heritage and being separated from everyone for two years his time, though his issues definitely seemed to be more world shattering than her silly crush. A crush, she reminded herself, that she hadn't even been aware of before today.

"It's about Lance," she started slowly. 

Keith's expression turned into mild aggression. "I won't hesitate to kick his ass for you." 

Pidge chuckled, shaking her head. "Wow, just like that? You wanna throw down with him so badly that any excuse will do?" Her tone was laced with amusement.

It was Keith's turn to chuckle. "No, not really. But, he must have done something bad to make you like this." 

"It isn't like he's aware of what he did," she shrugged, absently staring at her food. "He finally got his date with Allura." She tried to play it off as being happy for him, but there was a sadness in her voice.

Realisation struck Keith a little slower than he'd care to admit. "You like him." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Still, Pidge gave a single nod in confirmation. "Why didn't you say anything?" 

"Honestly, I didn't really know. I've had other things to worry about." 

Keith hummed in understanding. Defending the universe against the Galra Empire sat a little higher on the priorities list than acting on crushes.

"And it's a little late now," she continued, unprompted. "I mean, it's not like I should really be trying to pursue anything anyway. We still have to defeat the Galra, I can't just put that second." She stared very pointedly at her uneaten food. "I just don't want anything to change." 

A heavy silence sat between the two of them and Pidge suddenly felt very childish. Here she was, ranting about a crush she didn't realise existed until that morning, when she should be strategising to help reclaim Earth from the Galra. 

"Come on," Keith suddenly jumped to his feet, grabbing Pidge's hand and pulling her up with him. 

She stumbled to her feet with a yelp, not expecting the sudden outburst, clutching at Keith's arm to stabilise her ascent. "What are you doing?" 

"Taking you out," he said with determination, tugging at her gently to follow. "I think we earned a little R&R." 

Keith wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, but he knew Pidge was down and he wanted to bring her back up. The desire to cheer her up was almost suffocating and if Keith wasn't so focused on figuring out something for them to do, he would have surprised himself at how strong the desire was. He lead her through the Garrison, letting his feet take the lead. He really hadn't thought this plan through at all. 

"Keith, where are we going?" Pidge quizzed, her hand still nestled firmly in Keith's grip. "You're taking us around in circles." 

"No, I'm not," Keith denied immediately, but walking past the entrance to the control center for the third time proved otherwise. A quick glance in the control room seemed to he the inspiration he needed, an idea forming. "Wait, I've got it. A little project for us."

Curiosity piqued, Pidge took the bait. "What project?" 

"You'll see, come on."

With a solid plan and destination, Keith lead Pidge more confidently through the Garrison. They earned many curious looks from various personnel and many raised eyebrows at their joined hands, of which the two were oblivious to. Pidge continued to humour the Black Paladin with a soft smile on her face, finding his noble quest to cheer her up endearing. 

He lead them to a storage hangar, where the more experimental and not exactly functional machinery was kept. Much of the equipment had been left to gather dust, priorities having shifted and attention being placed on more viable projects. Keith lead them down to a darkened corner of the hangar, their movement activating the lighting. 

"Is that--" Pidge started, looking between Keith and the red hover bike tucked away in the corner.

"Yup," Keith confirmed proudly, finally releasing Pidge's hand to loudly pat the side of the bike, dust puffing off. "When we left Earth in the Blue Lion, the Garrison confiscated it. I think they were grasping at straws trying to find us."

Pidge circled the bike, analytical eyes judging every inch of the thing. She hadn't had the opportunity to marvel over the machine the first and only time she'd seen it; they'd had more important things to worry about back then, like not getting caught by the Garrison and not getting caught by the Galra. 

"It's in bad shape," Pidge remarked, fiddling with one of the hover rotors.

"You'd be in bad shape, too, if you'd been left to collect dust for two years."

"One," Pidge corrected, then bit her tongue.

She looked up to lock eyes with Keith, a solemn understanding washing over them. "Three," they spoke in unison.

"Guess it makes sense then," Pidge tried to lighten the mood. Their differing experiences of time compared to the rest of the universe usually weren't an issue, but sometimes, such as that moment, they weighed heavy. "So, this is our project?" 

Keith perked, thankful for the diversion. "I wanted to get her back in good nick," he explained. "But, why stop there when my best friend is a tech genius?"

Pidge squinted at him suspiciously. "You want me to upgrade it." Having it put so bluntly, Keith looked away in embarrassment. Pidge couldn't keep up the façade at such an earnest reaction, breaking out in a joyous laugh. "You should see your face! Oh, that's priceless. Of course, I'd love to mess around with her." 

Despite the time, the new project filled Pidge with newfound energy. She circled the bike as she made a digital rendition of it. She fiddled around with the digital output, creating simulations of the bike with different modifications; such was the beauty of technology. They didn't have to waste time finding out what would and wouldn't work. Keith joined in, suggesting different mods that he wanted, both for practicality and for the sake of it. 

Time flew by quickly as the pair solidified their plan for the bike, finalising on giving it actual flight capabilities and a much smarter computing system. A little weaponry wouldn't go astray, either. Anything fancier, such as the ability to climb vertical walls, were dismissed. 

Three years sitting idle had done terrible things to the bike. Almost every inch of it had corroded in some way; the hover rotors were severely damaged and would never operate again, and the engine was as good as dead. It was going to be quite the project as almost all of it needed to be replaced in order to get it operational. 

Pidge camped out against the wall, getting started on the new computing system while Keith did more of the manual labour. The entire bike needed to be disassembled to see how much damage had been done. Pidge had taken a short intermission to set up some music for the pair to work by, creating a cozy little work station. She had to admit, she felt a lot better than before Keith found her, not giving Lance a single thought the entire time.

That is, until the man himself crashed their party. 

Lance's whistle of impressed appraisal pierced through the music and focus. "So, this is what two are up to." 

Pidge lowered the music and closed down the hologram program, rising to her feet to greet Lance. Keith didn't do nearly so much to accommodate for Lance, giving him a glance before finishing up disassembling the bike.

"Where did you even get this thing?" Lance asked.

"It's my old bike," Keith deadpanned. "The Garrison found it in the desert." 

"We're fixing it," Pidge explained, as if it weren't obvious. "Three years really did a number on it."

Lance looked between the two of them, surprised. "You guys have a weird way of relaxing."

Pidge bristled. "I've always found technology relaxing, you know that."

"Hey, I'm just teasing," Lance threw his hands up in apology.

Keith interrupted the banter with a loud clang, setting down a large hunk of metal from the bike's wing. "Did you come here just to tease us or are you gonna give us a hand?" He wiped his hands onto his now filthy pants. Dust and grease had made its way onto every article of clothing Keith wore, as well has smudged all up his arms and even his face. Pidge snorted at the sight.

Lance laughed heartily. "No, way. I know how to relax and manual labour is not how. I wanted to tell everyone how perfect tonight was."

Pidge froze and Keith threw her a wary look. Lance dove right into a gushing about his date, from how amazing it had been to have Allura meet his family to how magical the evening ended. He radiated such pure joy that Pidge felt like a monster for feeling sad and sorry for herself. She was genuinely happy for her best friend.

"Oh, and Pidge?" Lance ruffled her hair playfully. "We wanted to thank you." Keith couldn't help but feel protective towards her, the instinctive reaction to leap to her side almost getting the better of him. The shock of such an intense reaction kept him rooted in place.

"Me? What did I do?" 

"Allura told me how you got her dress. I know how much that game meant to you." 

"Oh," Pidge deflated immediately. She threw on a forced smile. "It was nothing. I'm glad she liked it." 

Lance scooped her up into a hug, lifting her higher than her short legs could reach. She stumbled a little as he returned her to her feet, slightly flushed. 

"I'm real happy for you, Lance," she managed to say sincerely. "But, I think I'm gonna turn in now. We've been working on the bike for vargas." She gestured to Keith and the disassembled unit.

Lance nodded in understanding, bidding her goodnight. Keith organised with her to meet up for breakfast before getting back to work on the bike. Pidge agreed and found herself looking forward to spending the day working with Keith.

With Pidge departed, Keith threw a punch into Lance's arm, catching him by surprise. 

"Dude, what the quiznack?" 

"Nobody wants to hear you get all gooey like that," Keith grimaced. "It's gross." 

Lance laughed it off. "Oh, you wish you had what me and Allura have. It's okay, there's plenty of Lance to go around."

He threw himself onto Keith, leaning heavily on the Black Paladin. Keith shrugged him off easily. 

"We gotta find you a lady next!" Lance suggested excitedly. "Maybe there's a Galra Tinder. You do like Galra now, right?"

Keith went to throw a far less reserved punch at the Blue Paladin. Lance was smart enough to avoid it. "Don't be stupid." 

"Alright, no Galra. Duly noted. That would be kind of weird, anyway." 

Keith raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong with being Galra?" Sometimes, being part Galra really weighed on Keith in a suffocating fashion. Being genetically part of a tyrannical race hell bent on enslaving and controlling the universe made him question is own identity. But, sometimes, it was fun to goad Lance.

"W-what, no. I didn't mean--" Lance stuttered, hands up in apology.

"Come on, loverboy," Keith laughed, giving him some slack. He gestured to the makeshift work station, changing the topic. "This mess isn't going to clean itself up."

"Oh, no," Lance sprung away, making for the exit. "That's all on you. Call Pidge back to help you, I'm out." 

Keith shook his head as Lance absconded faster than he thought possible. He went about to neaten the work area up a bit, moving disassembled parts into organised piles; parts suitable to try and restore and parts that were so far gone they were better off destroyed. 

He found one of Pidge's laptops on the ground, presumably forgotten as she made her quick escape. He never knew her for one to leave her stuff lying around, so he gingerly scooped it up with the intent to return it on his way to his quarters.

**Author's Note:**

> thats all for now, ive had this sitting on my phone for a couple days and i figured i better post it before i question it even more


End file.
